Louis van Gaal Is A "Great Teacher"

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal is a "great teacher", according to Bayern Munich legend Paul Breitner.

The Dutchman almost won the Treble in his first season with the Bavarian giants, only losing out to Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan in the Champions League final after a domestic Double in 2009/10.

Breitner saw first hand how van Gaal's plan had a major impact at Bayern, which is still evident in the way Pep Guardiola's Bundesliga champions-elect perform at present, and thinks a similar situation is unfolding at Old Trafford.

"He has a special philosophy," Breitner told ManUtd.com at the launch of Red Heart United. "A great view. He has an outstanding view of how football has developed and what football you have to play to demonstrate it today.

"He is a great teacher. He has great ideas. I hope he is here for many years in Manchester to realise all these ideas. Of course, he has demonstrated he is prepared to work for the big clubs. He brought us a new way of playing, with new tactics and a new system.

"He played the game of ball possession, of control of the game and domination. This is the way our team is still playing under Pep Guardiola. He developed the way Louis van Gaal started to work with our team and Pep gave a lot of credit to this style and way of playing in the 22 months or so he has been here. But the man who prepared the style, this new Bayern Munich style, was Louis van Gaal."